RURAL FINANCIAL SERVICES PROJECT

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The Rural Finance Services Project seeks to promote growth, and reduce poverty in Ghana, broadening financial inter-mediation in rural areas, by strengthening operational linkages between micro-finance institutions, and rural and community banks, and building their capacities. The components will: 1) focus on strengthening micro-finance, by developing, organizing, and training communities, and, supporting capacity building for micro-finance institutions, within the existing initiatives, such as the Ghana Micro-finance Network, Susu groups, women's banking initiatives, and cooperatives, and credit unions; 2) focus on restructuring weak rural banks, strengthening their operational effectiveness, and the internal controls of all rural banks, providing information technology, logistics, and staff training. Banking rationalization will be improved through a defined criteria, linked to the individual rural bank capacity; 3) finance technical assistance needed to implement, operate, and train an apex bank for the rural, and community banks, and, support its initial capacity building activities; 4) provide support to the Bank of Ghana, namely, the Banking Supervision, and Rural Finance Inspection Departments, upgrading staff skills, and improving technologies, enabling effective project activities.